cannabisnews.com: Get Serious About Drug-Law Reform
Get Serious About Drug-Law Reform
Posted by CN Staff on September 18, 2004 at 08:43:52 PT
Editorial
Source: Montreal Gazette
The way things are going in Quebec, nobody should be surprised to see the emergence of some kind of fall equivalent of the spring sugaring-off ritual, to mark this province's annual pot harvest. At the very least, this weekend's two-part Gazette series on marijuana cultivation should give pause to legislators who have been slow to grasp the urgent need for clarification of the legal uncertainties surrounding this drug.
For example, simple possession of marijuana is still illegal in Canada, despite the perception that that's no longer the case. A federal bill to decriminalize - make possession of a small amount for personal use an offence about like a parking ticket, rather than a crime - died when the June election was called.The difference between decriminalization and full legalization seems lost on many Canadians. Nor is it well-understood whether simple possession is the same thing as simply choosing to grow a few pot plants for personal consumption in a basement apartment.It's really out in the vast corn fields of southwestern Quebec, however, that the big story about marijuana is unfolding. And the story is simply this: Quebec is no longer a net importer. Like the rest of Canada, this province has become one of the world's fastest-growing suppliers, an aggressive exporter renowned for producing pot with concentrations of the drug's active ingredient up to 20 times greater than in the imported pot of the 1960s and '70s. Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/serious.htmSource: Montreal Gazette (CN QU)Published: Saturday, September 18, 2004Copyright: 2004 The Gazette, a division of Southam Inc.Contact: letters thegazette.canwest.com Website: http://www.montrealgazette.com/Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmCannabisNews -- Canada Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/Canada.shtml
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Comment #20 posted by FoM on September 19, 2004 at 23:23:53 PT
Just a Link
Steve Earles new album is free on line on CMT. Here's the link.I can't wait until Tuesday to see Montel Williams show on medical cannabis. I know it will be great!http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/earle_steve/767505/album.jhtml
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Comment #19 posted by FoM on September 19, 2004 at 22:35:06 PT
BGreen
Winning tickets now that is great. I think people can still get the webcast for a $10 donation to Farm Aid as soon as they get it on their web site. I won't have to pay again so I'll watch it once more. I only heard of Steve Earle in the last year and then when I got Just an American Boy I realized the depth of his thoughts and songs. Jerusalem is a beautiful song. Willie sang so many good songs. The one about Beer for my horses. That's so good and funny to me because you don't give a horse beer unless you don't mind riding a tipsy horse! LOL! If you have a good connection it's sure worth the money to see. There were good groups earlier but the ones I really liked were later in the evening. It must have been an awesome experience to meet Willie Nelson. He will leave a legacy that will live forever. He's a good man. http://www.steveearle.net/lyrics/ly-coppe.phpExcerpt from Copperhead RoadI volunteered for the Army on my birthday They draft the white trash first,'round here anyway I done two tours of duty in Vietnam And I came home with a brand new plan I take the seed from Colombia and Mexico I plant it up the holler down Copperhead Road Well the D.E.A.'s got a chopper in the air I wake up screaming like I'm back over there I learned a thing or two from ol' Charlie don't you know You better stay away from Copperhead Road
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Comment #18 posted by BGreen on September 19, 2004 at 22:17:31 PT
Yeah, The Old Rockers Are Still Going Strong
It's funny you mentioned Steve Earle because the song "Copperhead Road" was the last song my wife and I heard on the radio before we went into the concert.I told her that Steve Earle was "one of FoM's favorites."Don was great. My wife won tickets which was GREAT! We couldn't have sprung for the $113 those two tickets cost.BTW, when I met Willie Nelson I thanked him for Farm Aid and all of the things he did to help people. I told him that I admired him for that even more than the joy he brings to the world through his music.He was genuinely touched by my words.The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on September 19, 2004 at 21:49:00 PT
BGreen
That's so cool! There's a spirit in the air isn't there? Last night from about 6 on until 2:30 we watched Farm-Aid. The last 3 to 4 hours were unbelievable. Jerry Lee Lewis was just good to see and hear as old as he is. Great Balls of Fire got everyone pumped up. Steve Earle:Earle, a political country rocker, delivered one of the night's great performances, a potent, stripped-down acoustic set that included "Copperhead Road," "Jerusalem" and "The Revolution Starts ... Now," the title track off his new album.Of course, it wouldn't be like Earle to stick to just one cause."Wars are tricky, a tricky thing," Earle said as he introduced the song "Rich Man's War." "For the people who start wars it's easy for them to do because they're not going and their kids aren't going. ... Your kids are gonna go. My kids are 17 and 22, and I think we need to have this conversation."John Cougar Mellencamp sang a new song called Walk Tall. It was awesome.Neil Young and his wife Peggi sang together. It was an acoustic performance and full of deep emotion. He turned to the audience and talked about the strange times we are living in almost trying to talk to himself. He repeated the word strange times. Then he said that he is going to be doing something and he didn't want to get supporters of Farm Aid angry but he said he has beliefs and he feels he should be allowed to say how he feels too about politics. ( Farm Aid is mostly republican) He said please what I'm going to do don't take it out on Farm-Aid.Willie Nelson was great and the last song was Amazing Grace with all the performers on stage with him singing. It was beautiful. PS: They even sang.Okie from MuskogeeWe don't smoke marijuana in Muskogee;We don't take our trips on LSDWe don't burn our draft cards down on Main Street;We like livin' right, and bein' free.I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee,A place where even squares can have a ballWe still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse,And white lightnin's still the biggest thrill of allWe don't make a party out of lovin';We like holdin' hands and pitchin' woo;We don't let our hair grow long and shaggy,Like the hippies out in San Francisco do.And I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee,A place where even squares can have a ball.We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse,And white lightnin's still the biggest thrill of all.Leather boots are still in style for manly footwear;Beads and Roman sandals won't be seen.Football's still the roughest thing on campus,And the kids here still respect the college dean.We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse,In Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA.
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Comment #16 posted by BGreen on September 19, 2004 at 21:19:50 PT
I Saw Don Henley Perform Live Tonight
His last two encore songs were "Desperado" and the only song he didn't write, Tears For Fears' song "Everybody Wants To Rule The World."This was obviously his musical attack on george w. bush.The Reverend Bud Green**********************************************************Everybody Wants To Rule The WorldWelcome to your life
There's no turning back
Even while we sleep
We will find you acting on your best behavior
Turn your back on Mother Nature
Everybody wants to rule the world.It's my own design
It's my own remorse
Help me to decide
Help me make the most
Of freedom and of pleasure
Nothing ever lasts forever
Everybody wants to rule the world.There's a room where the light won't find you
Holding hands while the walls come tumbling down
When they do I'll be right behind you.
So glad we've almost made it
So sad they had to fade it
Everybody wants to rule the world.I can't stand this indecision
Married with a lack of vision
Everybody wants to rule the world
Say that you'll never never never never need it
One headline why believe it?
Everybody wants to rule the world.
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on September 19, 2004 at 19:57:04 PT
Overwhelmsam
That's a good question. I don't think anyone wants to give it to them. They just take it. I watched the Farm-Aid Concert last night as a webcast. Neil Young talked between songs about corporate farms and the damage they are doing. It's not fair he said to the animals and it's terrible for the environment. He said this and I liked it. He said do your best to buy from local farmers. Just try. Buy from a local farmer not a corporation in Chicago or New York and the crowds cheered. People are trying to take back America one issue at a time. Our eyes have been opened. That's what I think.
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Comment #14 posted by Overwhelmsam on September 19, 2004 at 19:35:35 PT
FoM
Makes me wonder why we give governments so much power.
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on September 19, 2004 at 07:33:06 PT
Overwhelmsam
I heard something too about new bombings. It's a sad time for the world.
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Comment #12 posted by Overwhelmsam on September 19, 2004 at 03:34:03 PT
Ever get the feeling...
that the US government is becoming more and more evil. Of course there's the US citizens who are snared in the "Drug War", but I just got word through the grapevine that the US is going to begin another bombing campaign in Iraq within the next few weeks. Oh I'm sure they'll hit a few criminal murderering losers, I just feel bad for the innocent Iraqi men, women, and children who will be killed by the US in this senseless "war". It's indicative of a government out of control, and the majority of American people sit back and are okay with it. Sick really!Can't we all, just get along. ~Rodney King
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Comment #11 posted by military officer guy on September 18, 2004 at 20:21:43 PT
Medical Marijuana and the Federal War on Drugs
Libertarian Candidate for Prez, Michael BadnarikMedical Marijuana and the Federal War on Drugs
In the 2000 campaign for president, George W. Bush said that the federal government should not interfere with the medical marijuana policies of the several states. Like so many other promises, he went back on his word and has closed down medical marijuana facilities permitted by state governments. This is an outrage. The federal government has no constitutional authority to interfere with state drug policies. When the federal government outlawed alcohol, it required a constitutional amendment to do so. Nonetheless it has assumed the legal authority to wage its "War on Drugs." According to nearly every scientific study on the subject, including ones conducted by the government, medical marijuana provides unique relief to patients suffering from cancer, AIDS, glaucoma and other illnesses, and the drug does not have the same addictive properties as alcohol. The federally approved Marinol contains the psychoactive THC but lacks other cannabinoids crucial to marijuana as an effective medicine. This is one of the many insanities of federal drug policy, which categorizes a plant that has never been shown to kill anyone as more illegal than cocaine, and certainly more illegal than alcohol. Though smoking marijuana—just as smoking tobacco—can cause harm to the lungs and respiratory system, the drug can also be ingested and vaporized so as to prevent such unwanted side effects. On a fundamental level, Libertarians believe that it is the unalienable and constitutional right of individuals to medicate themselves and choose for themselves what to put into their bodies, as long as they live up to the consequences of their actions. The federal government has no proper say in the matter, and state governments violate the rights of the people in their own attempts to enforce morality. The decision to ingest, smoke or consume any drug should be up to the individual, under the advice of his or her physician, when appropriate. Locking people up for trying to relieve their pain is cruel and unusual punishment for an act that hurts no one. The Drug War has led to some of the worst violations of the constitutional liberties of Americans, as well as to the worst wave of violent crime in American history since Alcohol Prohibition. It has been used to rationalize unlawful searches and seizures, corruption of the court system, no-knock raids, racial profiling, and "civil asset forfeiture"—a policy whereby government officials can confiscate private property without even charging anyone with a crime. The War on Drugs, more than anything else, has served as a means of destroying the Bill of Rights. It has also led to excessive taxes and spending, costing more than 40 billion dollars a year to arrest, prosecute and imprison non-violent drug offenders. Drug Prohibition has caused gang warfare and other violent crime by raising the prices of drugs so much that vicious criminals enter the market to make astronomical profits, and addicts rob and steal to get money to pay the inflated prices for their drugs. On average, drug prisoners spend more time in federal prison than rapists, who often get out on early release because of the over-crowding in prison caused by the Drug War. While violent criminals can usually have their sentences reduced, drug offenders are subject to "mandatory minimums," which strip away judicial discretion and force judges to put users and dealers in prison for decades. This has to stop. The Drug War also has funded terrorists; providing them with opportunities for enormous profits, and even by giving foreign aid to such regimes as the Taliban as long as they promised to have "tough drug" policies. The Drug War does not curb demand, it barely reduces supply, however it makes America much more dangerous and much less free. A Libertarian president would order federal officials to cease and desist in harassing medical marijuana patients and would block federal spending on the War on Drugs. Nonviolent drug offenders would be released from federal prison, and each state would choose its own drug policy, just as each chose its own alcohol policy when alcohol Prohibition was repealed. Libertarians would hope and expect most states to come around and severely reform their policies to make them more humane and less at odds with the Constitution and the American way of life. I'm Michael Badnarik, Libertarian for President. I ask the tough questions---to give you answers that really work!
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on September 18, 2004 at 12:20:22 PT
Marc
I know that it's bad down here. Maybe soon if we get a new president things might slowly change. I'm going to try to watch Farm-Aids live webcast starting at 4 until 11 today. I want to see and hear Neil Young, Willie Nelson and Steve Earle. Last year it didn't work right for me so I'm hoping it works this year. Have a great weekend!Farm-Aid Webcast Today! Starting at 4 today Farm Aid will be webcast for a $10 donation.
Farm-Aid 2004: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/farmaid.htmMatthews, Young, Nelson and Mellencamp ready for 2004 benefit:The Farm Aid ArtistsTen New Artists Join 2004 Concert Lineup!Jerry Lee Lewis, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Trick Pony, Marc Broussard, Blue Merle, Kitty Jerry, Kate Voegele, Tony Coleman and Tegan and Sara have been added to the stellar lineup.If you know you can’t go, we are creating a new way for you to be there VIRTUALLY LIVE! We are going to WEBCAST the show right here on our website from 4:00 PM to 11:00 PM Pacific Time! http://www.farmaid.org/site/PageServer?pagename=concert_artistshttp://www.farmaid.org/site/PageServer?pagename=concert_home
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Comment #9 posted by Marc Paquette on September 18, 2004 at 12:01:51 PT:
Oh that we have too..
Oil..we have ALOT of that too here also, plus natural gas, electricity, water, and important diamond mines in Nunavut too! Mr B has plenty of reasons to invade any country that has enough resources to supply what America needs...and cheap too!I would say that the rest of the world would not be so tense if America would still be perceived as a true friend (like before), instead of a potential invader. Maybe it's now time that America exploits other possible resources..like on the Moon or Mars per example?Or perhaps more dependable and clean sources of energy that would make America autosufficient?There's a solution to ALL problems. Bloodshead and invasions are not the solution..it attracks terror and terrorism in your own land.Take care and good health to you also FoM and Friends!Marc
http://www.medpot.net
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on September 18, 2004 at 11:34:02 PT
Marc
You forgot what I think is the most important reason. OIL!Take care of your health!
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Comment #7 posted by Marc Paquette on September 18, 2004 at 11:30:41 PT:
Hi FoM
Hello dear Friend;Yes, I'm still alive..don't know for how long though LOL.The good herb helps ALOT :o)Still, only 2% of your pot comes from Canada.If Mr B can't use our beef, wheat, wood, paper and steel industries as an excuse to invade Canada, the war on drugs could be a good excuse..as long as they keep disinforming Americans in their medias that Canada is really a threat with it's pot, Americans will be fooled once more..like if they were never fooled before..remeber Saddam Eussein with his dangerous lethal arms they never found?The question is: "How much more bull and disinformation Americans will still believe if it comes out from the mouth of the BEAST? (Mr B)"Take care my Friend FoMMarc
http://www.medpot.net
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on September 18, 2004 at 10:47:05 PT
Hi Marc
It's good to see you. I really mind articles about Canadian pot coming to the states because why would people in american want or need canadian pot? I don't understand it at all. If anything it comes from Mexico I would think. I believe it's a way to try to control Canada.
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Comment #5 posted by Marc Paquette on September 18, 2004 at 10:46:33 PT:
About my comment...
I'm sorry my friends;The comment I just posted had to do with this following article:White House Complains About Canada's Pot Policies
http://www.medpot.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=9830Peace,Marc
http://www.medpot.net/forums
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Comment #4 posted by Virgil on September 18, 2004 at 10:41:30 PT
Troutmask- they have lying pigs
We have them all over the U.S. They do have some helicopters though. Maybe they are the flying lying pigs of which you speak.
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Comment #3 posted by Marc Paquette on September 18, 2004 at 10:39:37 PT:
WHAT CANADIANS DO...
Dear Friends;US imports 2% of it's marijuana market from Canada.How is our country a threat to US? This is absolutely absurd!What was that old saying again? America got "rich" by minding it's own business? Is this today's reality?Can we say this with "hale fuhrer" Mr B from the land of the "free"? Look what he has done to your freedoms and look how he imposes on the rest of the world...not only Canada. "HE" certainly don't have the right to impose his politics on the rest of the world! So Mr B...bud out!Marc
http://www.medpot.net/forums
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Comment #2 posted by Sam Adams on September 18, 2004 at 09:12:32 PT
Work
The social impact has not been good. High schools in rural areas between Montreal and Quebec City are reporting increased student absenteeism during harvest season, while mayors and employers say demand for crop pickers at $25 an hour has created temporary labour shortages.What about the kids that leave school in Maine & Quebec for the annual potato harvest? They're getting paid a hell of a lot less than $25 per hour - probably $2 per hour. I guess that's OK though.
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Comment #1 posted by TroutMask on September 18, 2004 at 08:59:33 PT
The usual BS
Snipped from the article:"Like the rest of Canada, this province has become one of the world's fastest-growing suppliers, an aggressive exporter renowned for producing pot with concentrations of the drug's active ingredient up to 20 times greater than in the imported pot of the 1960s and '70s."Wow, I'm gonna have to get me some of that 60 to 100% THC pot they got growing up there! I wonder if they got them flying pigs too?
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